


Spoilers

by paeryn



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: glass houses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-21
Updated: 2013-10-21
Packaged: 2017-12-29 23:58:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1011604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paeryn/pseuds/paeryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate asks Teddy to meet her at a new patisserie that opened up downtown for some coffee and some treats. but he knows something is up when Kate asks him to come alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spoilers

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [CrisArt-02](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/29423) by Cris-Art. 



** I ** t was around ten in the morning when he heard the dulcet tones of Lauren Mayberry from the lower level of the Kaplan brownstone. 

_There is no//other way//never run far_

_Take a good//swing at me_

_and everything is even_

Billy had taken the kids down to the retro arcade in Chelsea, and his parents were both at their respective offices. Teddy was alone in the house, a rarity, perhaps a singularity. He had plans to read the latest Elizabeth Hand collection he’d found at the small independent bookshop that had just opened in DUMBO. Most of all, he’d hoped to sleep in—which explains why he wasn’t wearing much, and why was about to fall on his face as he tried to get some lounge pants on before he headed down to the kitchen to grab his phone.

_So finally//we agree_

_No place for promises here_

_You better run, you better run_

And like a singularity, there was no way someone, or something, wasn’t going to be pulled into his orbit to interrupt the one solitary afternoon he’d had in months. He raced down the stairs, somewhat flailing as he tried to put on Billy’s over-sized hoodie over his head without tripping and dying. He’d convinced Billy to buy it by pointing out that it wasn’t precisely fair that Billy always borrowed Teddy’s clothes, but Billy’s size made it nigh impossible for Teddy to fit into anything his boyfriend usually wore. Billy had fallen in love with it, of course, sometimes even sleeping in it—like last night. By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to go through the door into the kitchen, he was mostly dressed. The neckline was a bit too tight still, though, and he found his head caught about the ears and nose with his abs exposed.

_So, hide, hide_

_I have burned your bridges_

_I will be a gun_

_and it’s you I’ll come for._

“Hi, Kate,” Teddy answered reluctantly, as he picked up his phone and slid his finger across it’s cold surface to answer.

“Is everything OK? You sound..i don’t know…stuffy.”

Teddy grumbled something unintelligible before responding, “I was asleep.”

“It’s ten in the morning!”

“Not everyone has every single second of every single day crammed full, Kate! Some of us take time to, you know, relax. Decompress.”

“So you’re alone?” 

“Wha-”

“Please,” Kate snorted, “the only person I know who budgets their time more than me is Billy. If you’re sleeping til 10, he’s not around.”

Teddy groaned.

“You should come meet me, have lunch.”

“It’s a bit early…”Teddy almost whimpered, as he he looked longingly at the book he’d hoped would be his sole companion today, lying just feet away on the skewbald granite counter where he’d left it the night before.

“Not now,” Kate said quickly, “but let’s say at noon. Macaron Cafe has opened up a new spot, not too far from Chelsea. You could be there in less than 15 minutes, even if you walked. And it’s Monday.”

“Damnit, Kate”, Teddy muttered, taking out his aggravation on the hoodie by giving it a good yank with more of his strength than he realized, as it painfully shoved past he nose and ears, catching on two of his earrings on its way down to finally settling about his waist. His abs weren’t cold anymore, but now he had a red line all around his face where the stupid neckline had been stuck. He looked ridiculous. Running his hand over his face, he willed the skin back into color and shape. At least Kate would never know. He yawned as he tried to wake up enough to find a way out of the trap he could already hear springing around him. Kate sounded like she was enjoying this entirely too much. 

“I just checked. They have the same specials as the original shop. You know, the one you always make me stop at for lunch. On Mondays.”

Teddy leaned forward, his elbows leaning on the cold stone counter and his hands covering his face, brushing away the edges of his bangs and hiding his eyes from the light he still wasn’t ready for. Moments like these, he envied Billy’s ability to instantly make the transition from cocooning in all the covers and snoring fast asleep to wide awake and dressed. 

“I might spring for a box of Nutella macarons, if you say yes in the next five seconds…”

“Yes,” Teddy hissed, defeated. Ignoring their famous chicken sandwich, only served on Mondays, was hard enough. But if Kate was going to appeal to his sweet tooth too, and from his favorite pâtisserie in Manhattan, he just didn’t have the fortitude. Maybe he could head to the park after lunch and read there. _With _his well-deserved box of macarons.__

“Gotta go, I’ll make reservations,” Kate quickly said, before Teddy had a chance to interrupt. “Have to pick something up at the Met. See you in a few!”

In the end, he did decide to walk. For a fall day, it was perfect weather—the leaves planted along the street-side had started to turn shades of marigold and pumpkin, and the weather was just warm enough to keep the hoodie on—which was a good thing, because he wasn’t altogether he could get it off again without shredding it. He’d chosen some rust colored jeans after his shower, and his gladiator sandals. He liked his feet cold, and he liked the idea of being able to torture Billy with them when he got home. Several minutes later he found what he assumed was the new restaurant’s location by the insane line that stretched out the front door. As he approached, however, he saw Kate already sitting at a table by the window. She tapped a wave, one finger at a time, against the glass as she smiled and lifted her trademarked sunglasses off of her face to rest on her head.

He entered the packed space, apologizing constantly as he had no choice but to push his way through the throng of anxious prospective eaters until he got to Kate’s table. As he sat, he took a hard look at his friend. She was dressed in a purple v-neck sweater and a pair of pants that were as tight as any spandex his team had ever worn. Around her neck was a thin silk scarf that bore a muted floral pattern on an egg cream background. A clamor of bracelets adorned both wrists. He smiled as he saw the familiar bracelet of creamy porcelain and trailing wisteria flowers, a gift from her mother, who had a love-affair with Tiffany’s use of the plant. The more loose-fitting addition was a golden chain separated by large and small freshwater pearls. On her right hand dangled, looser than the others, a bracelet of spherical beads, alternating of rock crystal and amethyst caged in sterling silver. She’d also picked up some silver Tube bracelets. This was the most casual she had ever looked. In fact, Kate looked downright _relaxed_. 

“I guess I can see why you had to stop at the Met.”

“Yes, well,” Kate gushed , “I saw the pearl one and the Egyptian tubes were finally available on the website and I wanted to be sure I got one before they were gone.”

Teddy reached over and ran his fingers across the scarf too, tilting his head to get a better look at the pattern. “You get that there, too?”

“Careful, Altman. You keep this up and I’m going to be impressed.”

Teddy laughed and brought his hand back to the top of the table in front of him. After a few moments catching up on their pleasantries, a waitress arrived with their lunch.

“Hope you don’t mind,” Kate mentioned in passing, “but I ordered for you.”

“Well, what if I—”

“Please, Teddy. I literally lured you here over a promise of a chicken sandwich and a box of macarons.”

“Still, I—”

Kate sighed, and then rattled off, “Chicken sandwich, with _maille_ mustard, Gruyere, arugala, cherry tomatoes, with light French mayo and cornichons, with an iced tea to drink?”

Teddy had the good grace to look sheepish, deliberately not glancing at the waitress as he felt his cheeks warm. The server placed a large cup of coffee in front of Kate, alongside a plate of Nutella and banana crêpes. He watched Kate take a big sip of the coffee, watching the corners of her mouth turn satisfyingly upwards. Thankfully, the server walked away before he could be embarrassed further.

“Good?”

“I swear, this place has the best French press on the island,” Kate said as she carefully broke off a forkful of the sweet confection on her plate and brought it to her mouth.

“Ugh, well…I’m happy for you. Their iced tea isn’t too bad, I guess. But man, this sandwich…” Teddy garbled, already stuffing a sizable portion of said meal into his mouth. “I didn’t know sandwiches could _taste_ this good.”

“Don’t chew with your mouthful, young man,” Kate admonished jovially, as she reached into her bag and grabbed her phone. She tapped thoughtfully on the screen a few times before she handed it over to Teddy to take a look at what was on the screen.

Teddy glanced down to see what was on the screen as she passed him her pride and joy, and dropped the sandwich he had been holding in the other hand onto his plate. The screen showed a series of snapshots of several heroes--Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Iron Fist, amongst others. All of whom made the city their home. All heroes he had, over the last several weeks, assumed the likeness of to sneak out of the brownstone and not arise Billy’s suspicions.

“Careful. I’ll wait till your done chewing.”

Teddy took his time savoring the sandwich, before swallowing with an audible gulp.

“You’re both my friends, Teddy. I love you both. Truth be told, I completely recognize this is utterly none of my business. But you promised, Teddy. We all did. Well, not Tommy, but he’s sort of hopeless on his own. Don’t tell him I said that, of course.” 

“I know I did, Kate,“Teddy quietly said, “and I meant it. But to be fair, you don’t know what it’s like, to sit there and watch him slowly, quietly disengage. I’m not him, I can’t just relive the past in my head and punish myself. I need to be out there, out here, _doing_ something.”

“He’s going to be crushed when he finds out, Ted. If I put the pieces together, you can bet others will, too. Someone is going to tell him, if he doesn’t find out on his own. It’ll go all the worse for you if the words don’t come from you.”

Before he could stop himself, Teddy gushed out, “Neither of them would like that we walked away from it all, Cassie even more than Jonas.”

Kate bit her lip a moment to keep it from trembling. “I know.”

“Doesn’t it make more sense to honor them by doing what they loved, what they would’ve wanted us to do?“

“I…can’t, Teddy. I still see her there…and I just…”

“Bullshit.”

“Excuse me?” Kate’s head actually flew backwards a bit in shock.

“What’s happened to you, Kate? When did we start lying to each other?”

“What the hell are you talking about, Teddy?”

“I’m talking about this,” he snapped, pulling out his own phone, and throwing it down on the table in front of his dining companion. He reached down while she stared at the images thumbnailed on its surface and took another big bite of his meal. It was still a damned good sandwich.

“You can’t, you don’t—” Kate’s face was as pale as he’d ever seen it. She slid the phone back to him. That casual grace that had come off from her in waves when he first sat down was gone, now. He hated that he had done that to her.

“I’ll tell him about you—” Kate whispered.

“No, you won’t. Because I can be anyone, Kate. Anywhere. And when we stopped hearing from you a few weeks ago, I decided to make sure you were OK.”

“Oh no—

“A journalist doing an interview for a new fashion magazine? One you never heard of?”

“Oh NO—”

“Or the pizza delivery guy to an apartment building owned by a certain blonde gentleman friend of yours?” Teddy let the notion sink in for a moment before he drove the point home. “I might be sneaking out to help people, _Katie_ , but you’ve built a whole new life for yourself, haven’t you?”

“It’s not like that—”

Teddy let her squirm for a few more minutes before he burst out laughing, a belly shaking laugh that caused the people in line nearby to all turn and stare.

“TEDDY!”

“Oh my god, I totally had you going!”

“Theodore _Rufus ALTMAN_!”

“I’m not even kidding, the look on your face,” Teddy wheezed as he tried to get his breathing under control before falling into another helpless fit of laughter.

“I’m going to kill you.”

"He’s old enough to be your father, Kate, Teddy said as he finally pulled himself together. He was still smiling though. I think by now, considering the years we’ve known each other, I know your type. 

"I’m going to _kill_ you."

“No, you’re not. And you’re not telling Billy, either. Because I know you’re not sleeping with Clint Barton—you’re not half the idiot you’d need to be to do that. But I know you’re not just over there all the time for the inordinate amount of pizza the man orders.” Gesturing to his phone still sitting on the table in front of her, he flicked the screen to reveal another set of screenshots—all of which showed Kate doing anything but hanging up her bow. He said “I’ve seen you around town lately, too.” 

Kate took a deep breath and, despite her self, let out a solid laugh of her own. “Damnit, Ted.” 

“Damnit, Kate” 

Kate reached out a hand across the table, and wrapped it around Teddy’s much larger hand. A hand that squeezed just as hard back. 

After a moment, both started to speak, “I should’ve told you—” 

Kate took another sip of her coffee as Teddy used his free hand to lift the overly full sandwich to his mouth and take another ginormous bite, which proceeded to fall down the front of Billy’s hoodie. Kate, saying nothing, reached across the table and tucked her napkin inside Teddy’s collar.

“I swear, I can’t take you _anywhere_ ,” Kate said fondly. 

An hour later, they were still sitting there, hands clasped together. 

“I hate to, but I need to get going.” Kate admitted as she extricated her hand from his. “Daddy Dearest needs me to make an appearance tonight, and there’s a fitting involved.” 

“Oh dear, just _how_ will you live with yourself?” 

“I thought Billy was the sassy one.” 

“Billy is the _obviously_ sassy one.” 

“I stand corrected,” Kate smiled, as she stood up slowly and pushed in the chair blocking her exit. Teddy stood as Kate gathered her things and they made their way through the still growing crowd until they broke free onto 36 th street.

Unsure of how he wanted to leave things, Teddy was grateful when Kate gathered herself in for a monster of hug. “Be careful, Teddy.”

“You too, Lady Hawkingbird.” 

“Shush, ”Kate murmured as she untangled herself from the embrace and gave Teddy a shove back. 

“Seriously,” Teddy paused, “If you need help…”

“I’ve got it handled.”

“But if you do…” Teddy let the rest of the sentence hang unsaid.

“I know, Teddy. For now, though, this is what I need.”

Teddy nodded, “Me too, I guess.”

“Just promise me one thing?”

“What’s that?”

“Do _not _go out dressed as Hawkeye.__

“I don’t know, Kate, Clint is a tempting target.”

“Teddy—”

“Well-proportioned…”

“TEDDY—”

“Don’t worry, Kate. I don’t do friends. Not even boyfriends.”

“What—”

“Billy had this idea that—”

“Jesus, Teddy, I did not need that image…”

“Besides.” Teddy said, looking her right in the eye.

“Yeah?”

“There’s only one Hawkeye.”

Kate let out a peal of laughter, turned on her designer heel, and began flouncing down the street. Over her shoulder she called out to anyone who could hear, “Caw, caw, motherfucker.”

Teddy laughed again at the scandalized looks of the various passersby, and turned in the direction of home. He had a date with a book, and a park, and a box of…

“Damnit, Kate!”


End file.
